Shoppers and sustainable businesses get it together!
THE POWER OF POSITIVE SHOPPING connects shoppers with sustainable producers, creative makers and ethical service providers from the heart of our communities
Positive Shopping for trade professionals
Museum and retail buyers want to connect with sustainable brands and service providers.
Blue Patch’s retail partnerships are growing, providing access to trade prices.
We provide buyer guides so professionals can view brands that meet their requirements. We also provide ‘meet the supplier’ sessions, making it easy for buyers to ask questions and order, commission free, directly from the brands.
We want everyone to enjoy beautiful products produced with the planet in mind!
Working Towards Net Zero
With the UK signed up to be Net Zero by 2050, businesses must reduce their carbon footprints. Blue Patch’s free programme LET’S DO NET ZER0 is helping our business members to audit and reduce emissions in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, so they can meet the legally binding carbon targets. We foster circularity, encourage members to reduce waste and audit their supply chains; including where materials come from, the processes involved and the end of life of products.
Places we pop-up with The Power Of Positive Shopping!
Happy Planet Store, Manchester
Our Happy Planet Store featuring 36 sustainable brands, opened at Manchester Art Gallery in January 2022 and ran for three months. The Happy Planet Store looked great and we made friends with the Museum team, it was a real pleasure to exhibit in such magnificent surroundings!
“Manchester Art Gallery is very happy to be hosting Blue Patch at the gallery, as part of our drive to support a more sustainable and ethical economy and switch to an ecologically sound way of life. The gallery has always had a role as a kind of ‘regulator valve’ as Manchester has grown from a town to a super city, championing the role of both ethics and aesthetics in the development of a healthy society. Manchester has set a zero carbon target for 2038 and this project underlines our commitment to achieving this goal, and at the same time supports the growth of community owned green energy across the land.” Alistair Hudson, Director
Manchester Museum
In 2022 we hosted our first meet the supplier zoom and it was great! The Buyer was able to be spontaneous with questions and get a real feel for the ethical stance of the producers. We’re up for doing more!
A brief history of Positive Shopping
2016: Blue Patch launches the UK’s first ever Sustainable Department Store in Dulwich, London. There were 70 brands, a pop up cafe, cookery displays, talks on the sustainable high street hosted by local MP Helen Hayes, workshops on sustainable living and craft demonstrations. We had a Tesla Power Wall on display and local school children put together a display of their dream high street. The event was opened by the Mayor of Southwark and we presented the first ever Blue Patch Sustainability Awards too!
2017: We partnered with The Collaborative Store in Marylebone. This high end, design-led store hosted our members, enabling them to reach a sophisticated customer-base. This marked our first collaboration with an independent retailer.
2018: We held a week long Sustainable Department Store Christmas pop-up in Shoreditch, London. There was a gloriously crowded opening party featuring the presentation of the Blue Patch Sustainability Awards. Events included a business hub, breakfast lectures by retrofit architects and co-active business coaching. We also organised workshops throughout the week including Christmas wreath, shoe and cocktail mixing (and drinking) workshops.
2019: We held a three-week Sustainable Department Store pop-up at The Whitworth in Manchester. The ‘Useful museum’ concept instigated by museum director Alistair Hudson enabled us to bring business and art into one space.
2020: The pandemic pressed pause on our Manchester Art Gallery pop-up, so the museum hosted our online Blue Patch Eco-store.
2022: The Happy Planet Store, Manchester Art Gallery; a three month pop-up, as the world emerged from the pandemic.
2023:
- Homes With a Heart with Blue Patch, curated by Roddy Clarke. September 21st-24th, London Design Fair, The Truman Brewery, London.
- A circular materials project in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
- Blue Patch’s Sustainable Arts & Crafts Showcase; May 13th-14th, 10am-5pm. Part of the Dulwich Festival. Dulwich Picture Gallery, London SE21 7AD.
- Nature Wall, May 13th-14th, 20th-21st. Works on paper by Blue Patch members. Part of the Dulwich Festival. Oru Space, 20-22 Lordship Lane, London, SE22.
“I visited the Blue Patch Collective’s first ‘High St’ Sustainable Department Store in Shoreditch and discovered a blueprint for a new retail experience. Blue Patch is a shining example of how a collective of UK SMEs are working together to rebuild retail, filling the gaps left by conventional models. Socially engaging with free talks and creative workshops, the store highlighted the exceptional quality of products hot from the UK’s workshops, artisans and heritage manufacturers. I wish them luck on their journey to bring life back to the high streets across the country.” Bill Grimsey is a former chief executive of Wickes and Iceland, author of The Grimsey Review and ‘Sold Out’. An astute commentator Bill is one of the UK’s leading experts on the High Street.
We’d love to work with you
If you like the sound of The Power Of Positive Shopping we love to work with you!
Please contact Jane Langley on jane@bluepatch.org 02077387267 / 07792726842
